"It was the
most amazing coincidence! Right when I began thinking of him, the phone
rang...and it was him! Isn't that weird?"

"I was in line at the grocery store and when it came time to pay my bill, I
realized I was exactly 82 cents short. Just as I was about to put back the
pretzels, my little boy handed me a fistful of dirty change mixed with lint and
sand from his pocket. I was going to tell him to just keep it because I
was sure there couldn't be more than a few cents there. But, when I took a
closer look at the three quarters, nickel, and two pennies, I thought how
strange it was for him to have exactly the amount I needed just when I needed
it."

These
two examples and hundreds upon hundreds of other stories like them are perfect
examples of meaningful coincidence, or synchronicity. Psychologist Carl
Jung was the first to refer to these uncanny events as being
"synchronistic." He saw that the universe responds to thoughts,
actions, and needs. He noticed that experiences which seemed to happen for
no apparent reason, yet yielded some amazing results were anything but
happenstance.

The
first and only rule of synchronicity, and life in general for that matter, is
this: There are no accidents. Everything that happens to you is for
a purpose, both the good and the bad. All events are brought on by your
actions and deeds; by your thoughts and prayers. Every lesson learned is
growth for the soul. Being reunited with a long lost friend, finding your
soulmate, landing the perfect job, locating the ring you lost 25 years
ago---these are all things that were meant to be, preordained by the Creator.

Another aspect of this meaningful coincidence is its place in the practice of
divination. Divination itself refers to an act of God. Methods of
divination, or seeking for meaning via seemingly random events include: Tarot
Cards, Numerology, Astrology, I Ching, Runes, Tea Leaf Reading, etc.
Believing that nothing happens without purpose or meaning, particularly if one
is attuned to his/her spiritual component, allows the universe to provide
answers in a real and meaningful way when one seeks to find those answers with a
sincere heart. Some people will use the Bible in this fashion--praying
that God provide the words of comfort for them during a particularly trying time
in their life. They "randomly" open to a page in the Bible, and
strikingly, there, before them, are the words of comfort that they really needed
to hear just at that moment. This is really no different than asking God
to offer direction in one's life and using the Tarot cards to provide
insight. God does not discriminate in His/Her methods of
communication. All is Holy when sought after with a clean heart and pure
spirit.

Carl Jung actually did an in-depth analysis of astrology to determine its place
in the synchronistic picture. He found that married couples (he
interviewed over 400 couples and had their astrology charts professionally
prepared) were far more likely than statistical probability would indicate, to
have certain planetary relationships in their astrological charts. He also
noted that many of his patients who exhibited distinct behaviors were found that
have indications of that behavior clearly shown in their astrological
profiles. These were not isolated incidents and defied the "natural
laws" of probability and statistical analysis. He termed incidents
like these to be a result of an acausal connecting principle. The word
'synchronicity' was first coined by Jung in 1930.

To understand synchronicity, one must simply be aware of it. One must
comprehend the saturation of the universe, both seen and unseen, by a Divine
presence. Our faith compels us to believe that there is a force far
greater than ourselves which gave rise to All That Is. We, too, are
manifestations of the Divine. Although we have been given free will,
allowing us to choose our actions and beliefs, the universe sometimes will give
us gentle reminders that we are not in charge. Our environments will
subtly guide us along the path we should follow. These events are not by
chance. They are the moments that we least expect, which somehow end up
shaping our destiny in profound and lasting ways. Even the fact that you
are here now reading this article was not an accident, it was meant to be.